Rosenstein is the top official at the Justice Department responsible for overseeing the investigation after Jeff Sessions, Trump's attorney general, recused himself from the Russian Federation probe. "Bob and I would be in the middle of a testimony and I would say something to Mueller like, 'Bob isn't that the dumbest question you've ever heard in your life?' (And he would say, ) 'shut up'".

"As I have stated many times, a thorough investigation will confirm what we already know - there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity", Efe quoted Trump as saying on Thursday. He said, "I'm anxious with all special counsels because there's no control over them and they can abuse their power".

In his new role as special counsel, Director Mueller will have wide latitude to take the investigation wherever he thinks it should go and can use the full range of Justice Department investigative tools, said Jack Sharman, an attorney who served as special counsel during a probe into the Whitewater real-estate investments of President Bill Clinton in 1995.

No less a commentator than Russia's Vladimir Putin called the dramatic charges swirling around Trump evidence of "political schizophrenia spreading in the U.S". That could well include the firing last week of FBI Director James Comey. The FBI's counterterror mission was elevated in those years, as the USA intelligence agencies adjusted to better position America to prevent another attack of such magnitude.

Mueller was appointed Federal Bureau of Investigation Director by former President George W. Bush in 2001 and served until 2013. "The investigation needs to be done right and it needs to be done swiftly, so the American people can get the answers they deserve, and we can move on with the business of creating jobs, renegotiating NAFTA, and investing in our infrastructure".

House Democrats who have been pressing for a special counsel to examine possible collusion between Russian Federation and the Trump campaign are welcoming word from the Justice Department that former FBI director Robert Mueller will lead the investigation.

Mueller has a broad mandate to determine the course of an investigation, but not an unlimited one.

Mueller to probe Trump RussiaTrump's alleged pressure on Comey - denied by the White House - has exposed the president to accusations of obstructing justice. In a striking show of bipartisanship, on Wednesday night Democrats and Republicans alike praised Mueller's appointment.

The White House counsel was notified after the special counsel order was signed.

According to a senior administration official, Trump is willing to take the US out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation alliance if there isn't better burden sharing.

On Capitol Hill, Comey was clearly the man in demand, with three committees working to seat him at their witness tables soon, two in the Senate and one in the House. And later, as head of the Justice Department's criminal division, he oversaw high-profile prosecutions that brought victories against targets as varied as Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega and NY crime boss John Gotti.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller on Wednesday to the position, reports CNN.

It followed the revelation Tuesday that fired Comey had written in a memo that Trump, in a February meeting in the Oval Office, had asked him to end an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn. The White House has denied that account. King says, "I'm anxious with all special counsels because there's no control over them and they can abuse their power".

"I determined that it is in the public interest for me to exercise my authorities and appoint a special counsel to assume responsibility for this matter", Rosenstein said in a statement.

His law firm, WilmerHale, says he resigned immediately upon his Wednesday appointment by the Justice Department.

Surfer worked from bedroom to beat cyberattackInstead, it actually began to halt its spread. "I was just sort of doing my job and I don't really think that I'm a hero at all". The 22-year-old surfer discovered a so-called "kill switch" that slowed the unprecedented outbreak on Friday .

Another partner, Reginald Brown, is representing Paul Manafort.

Trump was meeting with FBI director candidates when the White House was formally told that a special prosecutor had been named in the Russian Federation investigation.

"The Department of Justice should turn over a new leaf".

Mueller was appointed Wednesday by Rosenstein, who had faced criticism as the author of a memo that preceded Comey's firing.

Danforth's investigation cost millions of dollars and included hundreds of interviews and a restaging of the final hours of the 51-day standoff with federal agents.

The event featured a handful of speakers, including then-Attorney General Eric Holder, then-Deputy Attorney General James Cole and Mueller himself.